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Germany - The Consequences of War, 1945

5. The Loss of the German East

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About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we think about the impact that the loss of the Prussian provinces had upon Germany at the end of the Second World War, focusing in particular on: (i) the Potsdam Agreement (July-August 1945) which outlined the boundaries and population transfers that were to impact Germany; (ii) the organised and the “wild” expulsions of German people from eastern territories at the end of World War Two; (iii) the campaign to remove traces of German presence from the ‘recovered’ western territories; (iv) the return of Germans to the eastern territories after the Second World War, and the accommodation of Displaced Persons within postwar Germany.

Course

In this course, Professor Richard Bessel (University of York) explores the consequences of the Second World War in Germany. In the first module, we think about the final battles that took place towards the end of the Second World War. After that, in the second module, we think about the last days of the Third Reich in Germany, before turning in the third module to look at the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. In the fourth module, we consider the impact that Allied occupation had upon Germany, then in the fifth module we outline the far-reaching consequences of Germany’s loss of the eastern territories in 1945. Finally, in the sixth module, we think about the poor state that Germany was left in at the end of the Second World War, and how this manifested itself in the attitudes of subsequent generations.

Lecturer

Professor Richard Bessel is Professor Emeritus of Twentieth Century History at the University of York. He specialises in the social and political history of modern Germany, in particular the aftermath of the two world wars. He has published widely within this area, including Germany 1945: From War to Peace (2009) and Nazism and War .(2004).

Cite this Lecture

APA style

Bessel, R. (2022, July 21). Germany - The Consequences of War, 1945 - The Loss of the German East [Video]. MASSOLIT. https://www.massolit.io/courses/germany-the-consequences-of-war-1945/the-loss-of-the-german-east

MLA style

Bessel, R. "Germany - The Consequences of War, 1945 – The Loss of the German East." MASSOLIT, uploaded by MASSOLIT, 21 Jul 2022, https://www.massolit.io/courses/germany-the-consequences-of-war-1945/the-loss-of-the-german-east